The beautiful skin diet

How about berries instead of Botox, tomatoes instead of day cream, carrots instead of make-up? Many foods are beauty aids that make expensive creams and treatments unnecessary. Their effects are not immediate, though.

"Foods aren't medications that work overnight," says Hans Lauber, a nutrition expert and author from Munich. Rather than a short-term impact Hans says, many foods have a preventative and, above all, lasting effect.

"This means it's never too late to start holding back the skin's ageing a bit and ensuring a glowing complexion," says Michaela Axt-Gadermann, a dermatologist and professor of health promotion at Germany's Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Skin ageing has a lot to do with subdermal inflammation and can be resisted with the right natural products, she says.

Berry beautiful ... yoghurt with berries is a complexion booster.

"Meat, sausage or other animal foods are wrinkle accellerators because they contain arachidonic acid, which is also formed in our body when we eat foods containing omega-6 fatty acids such as margarine and sunflower oil," Axt-Gadermann explains. The same, she says, goes for free radicals, a type of unstable molecule that multiplies as a result of improper nutrition, sunlight and smoking - and attacks the body's cells.

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But there are dietary counterweights: "Berries have a strong protective effect against free radicals; that is, they've got a lot of antioxidants," says Lauber, referring to substances that interact with and stabilise free radicals. "And the rule is, the darker, the better."

According to Axt-Gadermann, a glass of elderberry juice has the protective potential of 14 glasses of red grape juice and 55 glasses of apple juice. A small amount of sour berries also covers a person's daily requirement of vitamin C, which improves the elasticity of the skin and promotes digestion.

Spinach, too, has an enormous protective effect, Lauber says. 100 grams of it packs the protective punch of 240 grams of rucola or 1,900 grams of cucumbers. Broccoli is also a highly beneficial food, he says, with an almost medicinal effect like many other green vegetables, which - thanks to their high vitamin-B content - alleviate minor inflammations and thus make for a fresh complexion and healthy skin. And Lauber swears by the beauty aid beloved of fashion models, namely green tea.

The carotenoids in tomatoes and carrots not only delay skin ageing but also protect against the sun, Axt-Gadermann ads. "Most people forget that they're exposed to the sun every day and don't put on sunscreen," she says, adding that regular consumption of tomato and carrot products provide a sun protection factor of four. Eating carrots also results in a fresh-looking complexion.

A healthy diet also includes carbohydrates and fats, "both of which our body needs," says Harald Seitz, a home economist and nutritionist for the consumer information service "aid" in Germany. He points out that whole grain products contain carbohydrates and are, like fruit and vegetables, rich in dietary fibre.

"They promote regular digestion, which is also a prerequisite for beautiful skin," Seitz says. In addition, he recommends eating omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in walnut oil and grapeseed oil.

Proteins have anti-ageing qualities and can also repair minor skin damage, according to Seitz. "Our skin is made up of collagen, which is formed from building blocks of protein," he explains. Collagen is needed for the formation and replacement of body cells.

Seitz says that ideal foods in this regard are sour milk products such as yogurt, whey and buttermilk, which provide plenty of protein but are low in calories.

DPA

24 comments

So someone's finally realised the whole beauty industry is built on a lie.

Commenter

Angus28

Date and time

July 05, 2012, 12:48PM

Water is good for your skin too.

Commenter

barry

Date and time

July 05, 2012, 12:56PM

Water is good for your body as a whole. Drinking tons will not fix acne prone skin.

Commenter

me

Location

here

Date and time

July 05, 2012, 9:27PM

It's interesting how many of the good foods mentioned are not derived from animals.

Commenter

LT

Location

Warragul

Date and time

July 05, 2012, 1:04PM

the article is for skin only, eating only the foods above would not give you a balanced diet.

Commenter

tm

Date and time

July 05, 2012, 1:25PM

@tm I think you're wrong.

The article, in a nut shell, says to eat an assortment of veggies, fruit, good oils and nuts .. that's about as wholesome as you can get. It sums up my diet and I've never felt better.

Commenter

lolo

Date and time

July 05, 2012, 2:55PM

@tm I've also got to say you're wrong. The skin is the last organ to receive the nutrients you ingest. If your skin is looking happy due to your diet, the inside of you is going to be looking just as good.

Commenter

JV

Date and time

July 06, 2012, 1:03AM

There is alot of good to be said about vegetarian diets, I dont eat alot of meat, but have done vegetarian detoxes in the past and the first thing you notice is the improvement in your skin. Animal proteins take alot longer to break down and digest than vegetable proteins which can cause a build up of toxins which affects the skin and can cause you to feel sluggish. Having said that, a balanced diet is the most important thing and animal protein is important for a balanced diet, as it can be more difficult to get all the nutrients required from a vegetarian diet. Generally in western societies at the moment, we do eat alot more meat than we should/need to, therefore limiting your animal protein intake rather than eliminating it would be a positive step towards a better complexion and higher energy levels. Fish is fantastic for you and has alot of anti aging properties, particularly oily fish like salmon, so having one or two fish nights a week and a meat free night is a good place to start.

Commenter

shoegal

Location

melbourne

Date and time

July 05, 2012, 1:58PM

I agree with this article. Your skin can reflect you health and particularly hormonal balance. People with diets that are too high in omega-6 fats (which is most people on a standard Australian, grain-based diet) as opposed to a balance between omega 3, 6 and 9 will no doubt have more skin issues.

I am a former acne sufferer and since I adopted a cleaner diet (lots of veggies, fruit, grass-fed meat, fish, nuts, clean fat, etc) I have great skin. Maybe the odd pimple comes up once and then, but I'm still young (24 year old male).

Happy Thursday!

Commenter

panthera_leo

Location

Sydney

Date and time

July 05, 2012, 2:33PM

I have found along with eating strawberries and blueberries that herbs can also be beneficial in improving your skin. I have recently been drinking Complexion Perfection by Blossom Blends and have noticed that my skin has had marked improvement. I am not sure if this is because of the extra water that I have been drinking (tea), however I will continue to drink it as it tastes great and is doing the trick.